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The next morning, Hulga sneaks off to meet Manley. She wonders why he brought his black valise with him. He earnestly tells her that “[y]ou can never tell when you’ll need the word of God, Hulga.”
As they walk, Manley asks Hulga about her wooden leg. Whatever she tells him about herself seems to fascinate him, including her atheism. When Manley kisses her, she remains unaffected, even though it’s her first kiss. She disregards every move Manley makes to impress her, yet he persists.
They enter a barn, and Manley appears impressed when Hulga climbs the ladder into the hayloft despite her leg. He awkwardly carries his black valise up with him. As they lie on the hay, Manley kisses Hulga repeatedly. When her glasses get in the way, he takes them off and puts them in his pocket.
Eventually, Hulga returns his kisses. He says he loves her and pouts when she doesn’t return his sentiment. She explains that she does not use the word love because she believes in nothing. Declaring their need to be honest with each other, she tells him she is thirty years old and well educated. He says he doesn’t care about her past, just whether she loves him. She finally breaks down and says “yes.”
Manley demands that Hulga prove her love. He wants her to show him where her wooden leg attaches to her body. She is shocked by his demand. She is especially sensitive about her prosthetic. He professes that the leg is “what makes [her] different.” At this moment, Hulga believes in Manley’s boyish innocence and surrenders herself to him.
Hulga removes her artificial leg and puts it back on. She lets Manley remove it, but he refuses to put it back on. She feels vulnerable and alarmed. He resumes kissing her, but she forces him away. He takes a Bible from his valise. He opens it, revealing that it is hollow. Inside is a set of obscene playing cards, a box of condoms, and a whiskey flask. He offers her a drink.
Hulga is shocked. She tries to retrieve her leg, but he pushes it farther from her. He pins her down when she tries to escape. He doesn’t understand her refusal, as he thought she’d be more willing since she is an atheist. She calls him a typical, hypocritical Christian. He ridicules her for believing his act.
As he sweeps his belongings into the valise, he takes her wooden leg, too. He claims to have many stolen items from similar encounters and says that his real name is not Manley Pointer. In his parting words, he tells Hulga she isn’t particularly smart, as he’s believed in “nothing” his whole life.
Mrs. Hopewell and Mrs. Freeman watch Manley exit the woods and head toward the highway. Mrs. Hopewell says he must have been selling Bibles in the woods. She calls him simple and says that the world would be better off if everyone were as simple as him. Mrs. Freeman, though, seems to suggest that she knows better.
